Newt Gingrich Thinks Palestinians Are an 'Invented' People

In an interview with The Jewish Channel, Newt Gingrich appealed to Zionists with a very quotable opinion on how "an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs" are waging war against Israel. To quote some more, Gingrich said that Palestinians operate with "an enormous desire to destroy Israel" and boo-hooed recent efforts to find a solution to the conflict. "It's delusional to call it a peace process," he said. As Politico's Ben Smith argues, this is a newly radical and potentially problematic point of view for Gingrich:

Gingrich's comments … edge him and his party further away from the two-state solution embraced over the last decade by presidents of both parties, and are the latest in a series of comments from Republican leaders that will set a sharply confrontational tone toward the Arab world if a Republican is elected next year.

Gingrich has suggested in the past that he could support a Palestinian state in theory but that he has deep doubts about current Palestinian leadership and worries about Israeli security, but his comments casting doubt on the legitimacy of the Palestinian national movement align him with more conservative voices who believe Israel has a permanent right to the West Bank territories.

Then again, we ought to be used to Gingrich changing his mind and saying salacious things by now.

News reports are focusing on the Germanwings pilot's possible depression, following a familiar script in the wake of mass killings. But the evidence shows violence is extremely rare among the mentally ill.